Hair drying apparatus



June 21, 1949. R B R 2,474,165

HAI-R DRYING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1947 rlrilllllllll n-n IIII-IIIIIVIIIIIIIIIIII A/v/v 6. 505mm Patented June '21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIR DRYING APPARATUS Ann G. Roberts, Chestertown, Md.

Application April 28, 1947, Serial No. 744,441

- Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hair drying apparatus of the type providing a hood or enclosure for the hair and means for circulation of air therethrough.

The object of the present invention is to construct such a hood of flexible material in such manner as to make it suitable for any size head, and having an adaptor fitting for attachment to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner.

Another object is to provide a hood of the above type which i simple in construction and has a head band which is closely fitting about the forehead, but is more or less crinkled around its rear portion to provide for the escape of some of the air around the base of the hair.

Another object is to make the above described head band slightly elastic and to provide it with adjustable snaps to accommodate different head sizes.

Another object is to provide an escape valve near the outer end of the hood defined above.

Another object is to provide the above hood with an adjustable chin strap to assist in holding the head band in place,

Another object is to makea simple hood of the type defined above for home use, with an adaptor fitting for connection to commonly used vacuum cleaners, such as the Electrolux, the exhaust outlet of which may be used for supplying the drying air.

Other and more specific objects will become apparent as the description of the illustrative form of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention proceeds, having reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 shows the hood in operating position, connected tothe exhaust of a commonly used form of vacuum cleaner,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hood per se, partly broken away, to show the attachment of an adaptor fitting,

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the open end of the hood showing the construction of the head band and chin straps,

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the adaptor fitting, and

Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the outer end of the hood provided with a modified form of outlet valve.

The apparatus shown in the drawings, as illusof hair, when blown up. This sack is provided ment to the head band by a male snap fitting 3 cooperating with several female snap fittings 4 at the split on each side of the head.

The sack is further provided with chin straps 5 attached to the sides of the head band. The chin straps have a male snap fitting 6 at one end for cooperation with any one of a series of female snap fitting l at the other end, so that they may be adjustably fixed under the chin to hold the band in a suitable position around the head.

At the other end, the sack is provided with an adaptor fitting 8 comprising a tubular end 9 having a relatively wide flange l0, and an annular plate ll riveted to said flange l0 and holding the open end [2 of the sack, gathered in between the flange and plate in air-tight relation.

The sack is further provided near its outer end with an outlet valve l3, which may be simply a slit in the sack provided with an adjustable zipper Hi and fitting l5 that is lockable in any position to which moved, so that the outlet opening may be suitably adjusted. This valve may, on the other hand, take the form illustrated at IS in Figure 5, which is a spring-controlled outlet check valve, and maintains a low but positive pressure in the sack whenever air is supplied thereto.

In Figure l, the hood is shown blown up in operating position, being connected through the adaptor fitting 8 to the outlet ll of a vacuum cleaner l8, which provides the air for drying and keeps the hood well inflated during operation.

In operation, the air freely circulates through the hair inside the inflated hood, and some of it passes around the base of the hair under the crinkled portion of the head band into the atmosphere, the rest of'it passing out by way of the ably impervious and flexible sheet material, of substantially the shape shown, and large enough valve I3, or IE5, as the case may be. If more air is desired to pass out at the base of the hair, valve l3 may be partially closed to provide a greater restriction at this point and thus force more air topass out under the crinkled portion of the head band, assuring a more effective action at the base of the hair. The spring controlled valve I6 may to loosely enclose a substantially maximum crop be provided with an adjustable spring, to produce the same effect as closing the zipper valve ll, by

increasing the spring pressure.

By providing the adaptor fitting 8 for connection to commonly used types of vacuum cleaners, the present hood is made available for home use at small expense. This hood might even be added to complete the equipment usually supplied with a vacuum cleaner, as an additional accessory, which would supply a very useful and inexpensive need.

Obviously, many modifications in the form and dimensions of parts may be made without depart ing from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In hair-drying apparatus, a hood comprising a tapered sack forming an enclosure for the hair open at its ends, a head band forming the opening at the larger end and having said larger end gathered into it, and a flanged adaptor fitting forming the opening at the smaller end and having said smaller end gathered into its flange,

said head band having a portion snugly fitting around the forehead and a crinkled portion around the base of the hair for permitting the escape of a limited amount of air from said enclosure and a valve in the enclosure near the adaptor end for exhausting a portion of the air from said enclosure. v

2. In hair-drying apparatus, a hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said valve comprises an adjustable openin provided with a zipper closure.

3. In hair-drying apparatus, a hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said valve is a spring loaded check valve for maintaining a positive pressure in said enclosure.

4. In hair-drying apparatus, a hood as defined t In claim 3, wherein said spring is adjustable to control the back pressure in said enclosure.

5. In hair-drying apparatus, a hood comprising a tapered sack forming an enclosure for the hair open at its ends, a head band forming the opening at the larger end and having said larger end gathered into it, and a flanged adaptor fitting forming the opening at the smaller end and having said smaller end gathered into its flange, said head band having a portion snugly fitting around the forehead and a crinkled portion around the base of the hair for permitting the escape of a limited amount of air from said enclosure, said adaptor being a tubular fitting having an annular flange and a matching annular plate riveted thereto and holding the end of said enclosure gathered in between said flange and plate to form an air-tight connection.

ANN G. ROBERTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,504,149 Rufilo Aug. 5, 1924 1,661,553 Baar Mar. 6, 1928 1,698,533 Brown Jan. 8, 1929 1,743,963 Gaire Jan. 14, 1930 1,784,139 Gunter et al Dec. 9, 1930 1,907,215 Pfahl May 2, 1933 2,266,653 Miller Dec. 16, 1941 2,290,455 Stephen July 21, 1942 2,295,820 Wright Sept. 15, 1942 2,326,981 Stenberg Aug. 17, 1943 2,346,558 Coventry Apr. 11, 1944 

